How to Install Nginx on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 and 16

Updated: 29 September 2026 · Applies to: Nginx 1.30 on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6 and later and SLES 16; openSUSE Leap 15.6

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12, which this article used to cover, is out of general support. On SLES 15 and 16 you can install Nginx either from SUSE's own repositories or from the official nginx.org repository, which has newer versions. We checked the nginx.org repository on openSUSE Leap 15.6 (binary-compatible with SLES 15 SP6), where it offered Nginx 1.30.5, while Leap's own repository had 1.21.5.

Option 1: SUSE's package

sudo zypper install nginx

This is the simplest choice and receives updates through your SUSE subscription. On SLES the package comes from one of SUSE's module repositories; if zypper cannot find it, enable the matching module with SUSEConnect.

Option 2: nginx.org repository (newer versions)

nginx.org builds packages for SLES 15 SP6 and later (x86_64) and SLES 16 (x86_64 and aarch64).

1. Install the prerequisites:

   sudo zypper install curl ca-certificates gpg2

2. Add the repository for stable releases:

   sudo zypper addrepo --gpgcheck --type yum --refresh --check \
       'https://nginx.org/packages/sles/$releasever_major' nginx-stable

3. Download and import the signing key. nginx.org publishes the key fingerprints on its Linux packages page; compare them before you import:

   curl -o /tmp/nginx_signing.key https://nginx.org/keys/nginx_signing.key
   gpg --with-fingerprint /tmp/nginx_signing.key
   sudo rpmkeys --import /tmp/nginx_signing.key

4. Install:

   sudo zypper install nginx

Start it and open the firewall

sudo systemctl enable --now nginx
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=http --add-service=https
sudo firewall-cmd --reload
curl -I http://localhost

The response should start with HTTP/1.1 200 OK and show Server: nginx.

Where things are

• Main configuration: /etc/nginx/nginx.conf; add sites as files in /etc/nginx/conf.d/ (nginx.org packages) or /etc/nginx/vhosts.d/ (SUSE package).
• Check the configuration after every change: sudo nginx -t, then sudo systemctl reload nginx.
• Logs: /var/log/nginx/.

Official documentation: nginx.org: Linux packages for SLES.